All eyes on the Caribbean Court of Justice

Jul 07, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

I am certain that thousands of persons from Guyana, the Caribbean and the wider world are anxiously awaiting the decision of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in next Wednesday’s ruling in the Guyana elections saga. The justices of the court last Wednesday heard arguments from several lawyers representing the main opposition PPPC, and two other opposition parties as well as the incumbent coalition APNU/AFC, and other interested parties. The main issue is whether or not the decision by the Guyana Court of Appeal on the issue is final and if the CCJ has jurisdiction to intervene. The argument is that the incumbent should have filed an election petition in the High Court and not move to the Appellate Court which had no jurisdiction to make the Order made. It seems as if they did not choose the election petition route because before they can do so there must be a declaration and Dr. Irfaan Ali, would be sworn in as President.
In my respectful view, Presidential Candidate Ali and General Secretary Bharat Jagdeo had the right to appeal since the Court of Appeal was wrong to make the orders made especially when it ruled that “votes” means “valid votes”
This appeal will be a test for the CCJ because some feel that the apex court is not as firm as the Privy Council although the decisions of the Port of Spain headquartered Court are excellent and have been praised by many international organizations including the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime. One critic, Dr. David Hinds a member of incumbent coalition APNU/AFC government is very vocal against the Court and went so far to state that Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and a few other islands have no confidence in the court, hence the reason why they have not abolished appeals to the Privy Council and accept CCJ as the final court. It is regrettable that the outgoing President David Granger was critical of Chairman of CARICOM, Mia Mottley QC, when he said that the Barbadian Prime Minister appears to be designed to exert pressure on the regional Court. It was only a few months ago President Granger bestowed Guyana’s second highest award, Order of Roraima on Miss Mottley.
One of the CCJ justices, a senior jurist, Jacob Wit, in a brief remark last Wednesday outlined the number of cases dealt with by the regional court and compared it with the Caribbean cases disposed of by Privy Council. In addition to the disparity, I should state the costs are far less and the process is much swifter. Perhaps, I should mention at this juncture that the Guyana election issue has reached the CCJ on three occasions: the appointment of the Chairman of Election Commission (GECOM), whether 33 is, majority of 65, and now the jurisdiction issue. It should be stated that the Court dealt with the issues with rapid speed far much quicker than if they had gone to the London based Court. In fact, the current issue before the Court took less than 21 days for a full hearing in which several leading lawyers were heard – some via telephonically. One of the main players, Chief Elections Officer, Keith Lowenfield, was not represented.
I have been following the operation of the CCJ even before its inception 15 years ago and have written scores of article, I am very optimistic about the future of the Court and hope that in the very near future Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, and Bahamas will join the Appellate Division of the Court.

Oscar Ramjeet